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Month: September 2015
The Martian: How NASA Soars – and Stumbles –  Simultaneously
The Martian: How NASA Soars – and Stumbles – Simultaneously

Can Hollywood save NASA?, Washington Post “NASA is having something of a moment. “The Martian” debuts this week to huge expectations: starring Matt Damon and directed by Ridley Scott, the $100-million-plus film highlights not only the ingenuity and pluck of those who would go to the stars, but also the bureaucratic stumbling blocks facing our spacefarers at home.” The Martian is a great movie, but it sends the wrong message […]

  • NASA Watch
  • September 30, 2015
NASA Cancels B612 Sentinel Agreement and Then Picks JPL NEOCam
NASA Cancels B612 Sentinel Agreement and Then Picks JPL NEOCam

NASA Selects Investigations for Future Key Planetary Mission “NASA has selected five science investigations for refinement during the next year as a first step in choosing one or two missions for flight opportunities as early as 2020. The submitted proposals would study Venus, near-Earth objects and a variety of asteroids. Each investigation team will receive $3 million to conduct concept design studies and analyses.” Venus and a bizarre metal asteroid […]

  • NASA Watch
  • September 30, 2015
NASA Cancels Space Act Agreement With B612 Foundation
NASA Cancels Space Act Agreement With B612 Foundation

NASA Terminates Space Act Agreement with B612 Foundation for Sentinel Spacecraft “NASA spokesmen Dwayne Brown and Dave Steitz confirmed via email that NASA terminated the agreement with B612. Steitz explained that B612 had not met an important milestone in the SAA — starting Sentinel’s development — and NASA therefore terminated the agreement because “due to limited resources, NASA can no longer afford to reserve funds” to support the project. “NASA […]

  • NASA Watch
  • September 30, 2015
The Inevitable Commercial Crew Train Wreck?
The Inevitable Commercial Crew Train Wreck?

The coming train wreck for Commercial Human Spaceflight “NASA at its highest leadership level has committed to try to allow commercial space flight providers a great deal of flexibility and cost control. There are ways to do this which will not compromise safety in design or operation. But having NASA civil servants as the arbiters of whether or not thousands of requirements have been satisfied is not the way to […]

  • NASA Watch
  • September 30, 2015
James McLane
James McLane

James Calvin McLane III “James Calvin McLane III, an engineer, author, caver, collector, space technology expert, motorcyclist, photographer, Lutheran, adventurer, and friend, died in his home of a heart attack on Tuesday, September 22, 2015. He was 70 years old. In between traveling the world working in oil and gas, he had a distinguished career working in the footsteps of his father for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).”

  • NASA Watch
  • September 30, 2015
Planetary Society's Mars Mission Takes Longer To Do Less
Planetary Society's Mars Mission Takes Longer To Do Less

Keith’s note: The result of the closed door Humans Orbiting Mars report has been released. According to this report missions to Mars only orbit the planet by 2033. Crews would control robots on the surface. If there’s enough money then the report suggests a landing in 2039 but they’d only stay on the surface for 24 days. Long duration missions on the surface of Mars would not start until 2043 […]

  • NASA Watch
  • September 29, 2015
In Space No One Can Hear Space Advocates Scream
In Space No One Can Hear Space Advocates Scream

Stay the Course To Mars, OpEd, Chris Carberry and Joe Cassady, SpaceNews “What should be made clear, however, is that the next president will not need to reinvent our national space policy. The overall policy direction is fine, but despite a lot of progress with architectural elements and growing support from a number of stakeholders and policymakers, a clear pathway (including necessary precursors) has yet to be fully articulated.” Keith’s […]

  • NASA Watch
  • September 29, 2015
Astrobiology Hearing Today
Astrobiology Hearing Today

Hearing charter “This hearing will review the scientific methods employed to search for life, examine recent scientific discoveries in the field of astrobiology (the study of the origin, evolution, distribution, and future of life in the universe), and assess the prospects of finding life beyond Earth over the next decade.” – Archived webcast – Hearing information – Prepared Statements by: Ellen Stofan, Jonathan Lunine, Jacob Bean, Andrew Siemion – Science, […]

  • NASA Watch
  • September 29, 2015
NASA Ignores The Same Next Generation It Hypes
NASA Ignores The Same Next Generation It Hypes

NASA Is the Unlikeliest ‘Design Firm’ in Human History, Observer “Earlier this month, a young maker named Ahmed Mohamed was arrested while wearing a NASA t-shirt after bringing a homemade clock to his high school. Photographs of Ahmed in handcuffs circulated around the globe along with the space agency’s logo creating a new context for its design and purpose. NASA tweeted a response to the arrest with a STEM-related message […]

  • NASA Watch
  • September 29, 2015
Reaching The Other 99.99% About The Mars Thing

The leader of the Planetary Society @exploreplanets What about reaching the other 99.999% of citizens? Just sayin' https://t.co/FJEcGPVI41 — NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) September 29, 2015 50 Websites to Waste Your Time On: http://t.co/UwVZB5p3nn pic.twitter.com/OuJ2WsK2xP — Mashable (@mashable) September 29, 2015 Evidence of water found on Mars found on our homepage! pic.twitter.com/hsWqEDYdFh — Google Doodles (@GoogleDoodles) September 29, 2015 #NASA #Mars news was upfront item on @TheDailyShow @NightlyShow and @Midnight on […]

  • NASA Watch
  • September 29, 2015